A Few 1440 Questions
 

I spent the rainy weekend cleaning up a new to me 1440 and giving it new fluids, filters, and grease. In the process, I learned a few things about it that I didn't know before and I created one problem.

1. CV boot - One of the drive shaft CV boots was missing its zerk fitting and the boot looked deflated. I hope that replacing the fitting and pumping some grease in there will balloon it back up, but I expect the rubber to be dried and not hold somewhere. Any tips for this task while avoiding putting on a new boot?
   
2. Drive belt pulley - After reattaching the deck and belt, I tried to perform the tension adjustment in the manual. Lining up the tension pulley as described left the idler pulley resting on the front hanger cover. That lead me to realize that the idler pulley has been grinding into the front hanger cover for who knows how long. It's developed a nice little groove in there, although it hasn't broken through to the other side yet. My first thought was that I need a shorter belt. Then I remembered the seller told me he rebuilt the B&S engine from 14hp to 16hp. I assume the PTO clutch is in the same position as the original engine, but perhaps it shifted slightly, causing the belt length to be way off. Either way, a shorter belt should get me more tension and bring both pulleys back from the front hanger cover, right?
   
3. Carburetor threads - This one I did myself. I somehow managed to strip the threads to one of the tapped holes in the upper carb body. One of the screws that holds the air cleaner base to the carb wouldn't tighten up and upon backing it out, I found thread shards everywhere. Two questions here - do I need all three of those screws holding down the air cleaner? I ran it last night with only two of the three installed and everything's still tight. I tried to get all the shards out of the screw hole, but I'm worried about things flying into the carb. Also, what's the best repair path? Helicoil?

As always, thanks in advance for any advice or opinions!